Let me say it is very hard to get back on low-carb once you fall off. Over the summer I did low-carb and lost 30 lbs in 3.5 months, We went away on a cruise and every since then I have eaten low carb mostly but allot of bad carb meals in between. Running around with kids sports programs, working more hours I am finding low-carb allot tougher and almost impossible to plan. I was eating every 3 hours when on low carb but now it can be 5-7 hours between meals due to running around.

Still trying but not getting anywhere. I notice that if I eat a high carb meal I feel starving for the next few days.

My original goal was to loose 30 more pounds but its been a tough 2 months and I can not get back into it all the way. I keep trying new meals here and there to get over the blandness of low carb eating (yes I find it very plain) but it is not easy to get a very tasteful meal under 5 carbs.

I feel your pain. I've been doing low carb on and off since I was 16 years old.. I am 22 now. I gained 120 pounds and then lost about 80 in 5-6 months and then I cheated for 2-3 months and gained 40 pounds ever since I cheated I cant get back into it the way I used to ... but I really want to because I love low carb.. blahh Ill try to do a strict induction but then ill cheat and I just keep doing it I cant stay on track!

You could try a couple of things. One, try starting at a higher level of carbs, 50 or a little more. Then, back down from there. Maybe then it wouldn't seem so daunting. Or, just do a meal. Say, breakfast. Get that down, then add lunch, and finally dinner.

Cooking does make this so much easier and not bland and boring. If you don't cook, start with easy stuff, you can learn. Linda Sue has a lot of recipes that are easy and really good. Check out the recipe room help and suggestion board. A lot of great ideas over there.

I've been there, but it's finally come down to either I do this or become diabetic. And that's not happening. Maybe read more. The more I've learned the more I am convinced this is right. Make it about being healthy and the SAD is anything but.. But they sure know how to make chemicals taste good. Read some labels, see what you are choosing to eat..

You have to have your head in the game, for sure... Good luck!

__________________Freedom isn't free

..stop thinking of it as "starting over". It's life, we don't get do-overs. You can only move forward from this point. ~~ pepperanne

I completely understand. I think the only thing that always brings me back is the fact that if I don't eat this way I am so sick. My health has I proved 90% since being LC. I have had to white knuckle it thru more than one slip up. You can do it! If you can have the willpower for a few days, it will start to get easier and then you won't have to rely on your willpower. You will just find it easier and easier the more you do it. Good luck!

It's hard to restart because carbs are addictive...I am a carb addict. If someone quits something, whether it be drugs, drink, cigaretts etc. and then they cheat and start having these things again they fall off the wagon and want more. That's what carbs are to me...I quit but if I let some sneak into my diet, I want more because they make me feel good until the carb high wears off that is...then I am hungry for even more.
Then to get started low carbing again we have to go through withdrawal...that is why we feel so crappy when we do induction...withdrawal symptoms. So we weaken and eat carbs to get through.
It is not just you we all go through this. We just have to make up our minds to not eat the bad carbs and stick to it, this is the hard part.
But as the saying goes...Being fat is hard... Dieting is hard...Pick your hard!
At least you are trying...just keep trying because you can't fail unless you quit.

You're right, I don't think there's a person on this board who would argue that re-starting is one of the hardest things on this WOE.
It always gives me great anxiety... but being prepared takes the edge off. Even if it means having packaged, pre-cooked meats around, it beats eating a bunch of flour and sugar and crap.
I hope it gets easier for you.

I wonder if 'keeping it simple' might help somewhat. That at least has been my approach. I just eat the same things every single week day; the same breakfast, same lunch and same dinner. On weekends I don't vary my breakfast and lunch although I do eat fish or steak my husband grills plus a salad. For some reason the regular, non-varying meals seem to make it pretty easy for me since I'm never considering other options or trying to figure out if a different meal might be low-carb enough. I do understand that this approach probably isn't for everyone as some need more variety in their diet and would find this too monotonous. But I just offer it as a suggestion since it seems to help me.

I don't know if Im quoting right because I never do it but I love that! So true! Very eye opening thank you for that

I thought this saying was great and asked someone else if I could use it...I don't know the origin of the saying but there are many versions of it. I have it eveywhere including as a post it on my phone so that I can always see it and hopefully stay strong.

Knowing that I would have to restart is one of the reasons I'm staying on plan, no matter how much tweaking, planning, making decisions that I know will be hard, or stalling... Those things are SOOOOO much easier than falling off plan and having to get myself mentally prepared for a restart. The physical challenges are more overwhelming than the emotional/mental part.

I will say that planning is the most important thing to do. If you dont plan and execute that plan then forget about staying on track. Over the summer when it was less hectic it was easier to plan and make foods. Even made extras for leftovers for lunch the next days and I do not like leftovers at all. never taste the same or good.

Now running around everyday night of the week (including weekends days) it is very tough to plan and execute. I can make a plan to make something but life gets in the way and we either dont make the meal or we make it and dont come back to eat it since we are running around or dont have a place to heat up the food while running around - hence eating out which in my opinion is the the second worst thing after not planning to do to eat healthy. You can guess what the restaurants are serving but you dont know. Ordering plain chicken breast is disgusting and gets me more frustrated.

I'll keep searching and trying. Holidays are coming and this will be worse. I can see all the weight I lost come right back on fast in a few months. one of the reasons I do not like this WOE.

I don't understand the bland part. There are multitudes of spices and seasonings out there, there is , in my mind, no excuse for eating bland food unless I just don't know how to season something. I've made some pretty weird tastes combining spices but there is hardly ever a lack of spice unless I just didn't add enough.

Or maybe I misunderstand what you mean by bland.
I can steam some green beans and eat them plain. That's bland, or I can toss the into a bag with sliced mushrooms , oil and a generous helping of jerk seasoning and that's Pow in teh mouth.

I could bake some chicken wings and eat them plain. That's bland. Or I could put half a stick of butter in a small pan lined with foil, put the wings in under the broiler, turn them every few minutes until they literally fry in the butter oil, and eat the fried wings with Franks Hot wing Sauce , some celery sticks and some blue cheese dressing. That's flavorful!

Cooking is one of the things that makes having lucious food easy. One thing I try is to buy salad greens in bulk, get 5-7 5 cup ziplock containers and portion out the lettuce between all of them, then I drop cherry tomatoes in each one, slice cucumbers into each one, radish, chopped celery, shredded cabbage, shredded iceburg, and whatever other veggies I like, then stack em in the fridge for a quick meal. all I have to do is add some cooked meat or a boiled egg ( YOu could boil the eggs beforehand and add the to the assembly line part) Add your favorite dressing and you have a quick meal in the time it took to cook one piece of meat.

To make it easier for me to cook at home, I pre process as many of my veggies and fresh herbs as I can. I'll pluck my cilantro, parsley leaves and store them in a small container, chop the celery into diced/sticks for cooking/snacking, Dice/Slice onions and store, Make the salads and stash, slice or matchstick the radishes, soak in water, then drain and stash ( water removes the bitter). Then when it's time to cook, It's just like those cooking shows where they just reach for the ready cooking ingredient and drop it into the bowl.

I just bought a bunch of Atkins Meals on Sale. They are NOT ideal, they are too expensive and don't have much food, but If I'm stuck at BF's house with no unbreaded meat or any veggies, I can at least eat one of them, till I can get home to my own kitchen.

And don't forget, if you are prone to a sweet tooth, go ahead and make some Low Carb Sweet snacks that You know you can enjoy instead of feeling deprived around others. Make some Sweet and Smokey Pepitas

2. Bake for about 7 minutes, until fragrant and toasted. In the meantime, mix remaining sugar, paprika, salt, and cumin. When the pepitas come out of the oven, immediately toss with the spice mix. Allow to cool before serving or storing. Stored in an airtight container for about a week or a freezer for several months.

I will say that planning is the most important thing to do. If you dont plan and execute that plan then forget about staying on track. Over the summer when it was less hectic it was easier to plan and make foods. Even made extras for leftovers for lunch the next days and I do not like leftovers at all. never taste the same or good.

Now running around everyday night of the week (including weekends days) it is very tough to plan and execute. I can make a plan to make something but life gets in the way and we either dont make the meal or we make it and dont come back to eat it since we are running around or dont have a place to heat up the food while running around - hence eating out which in my opinion is the the second worst thing after not planning to do to eat healthy. You can guess what the restaurants are serving but you dont know. Ordering plain chicken breast is disgusting and gets me more frustrated.

I'll keep searching and trying. Holidays are coming and this will be worse. I can see all the weight I lost come right back on fast in a few months. one of the reasons I do not like this WOE.

We all have periods in our lives that are hectic and make eating a good diet less easy. It is not a reason to derail.

For instance why would you order plain chicken breast if you think it is disgusting? How about wings or a steak or a burger or even a salad with protein (leave off anything carby)? I find restaurants easy to navigate if you just ask questions.

You say you don't like this woe.... makes me wonder how successful a person can be if they don't like what they are doing when it comes to diet when you realize it really is a life commitment?

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

One of my favorite restarurant foods is a Big Buford from Checkers, I just scrape the mayo off the bun and eat it without the bun. I actually leave the bottom bun attached like a plate, but then I just bite off the meat and veggies , not the bun.

McDonalds have some nice salads, though the dressings are suspect, but they are good tasting and not a bad alternative. there are also burgers to eat sans bun.

Any place that has a grilled chicken sandwich, sans bun.

Jason's Deli has a full salad bar, complete with cottage cheese, boiled eggs, diced meats and all sorts of dressings. The soup and salad is a good deal, you eat from the all you can eat salad bar till full and take the soup home for a different meal.

I found restarting to not be a problem at all. This was of course after I saw my new weight - that was all the motivation it took me to re-commit and not worry about how much I love carbs. Maintenance was what I had a problem with the first time. I thought I could add all the carbs back - in moderation - but alas, there is no moderation when it comes to me and carbs. Lesson learned.

Quote:

You say you don't like this woe.... makes me wonder how successful a person can be if they don't like what they are doing when it comes to diet when you realize it really is a life commitment?

Exactly. This is not a way to lose some weight and then go back to the old way of eating. No weight loss programs are, but it is especially true for this one, because we are restricting a class of foods forever.

Over the summer when I was grilling/smoking meals outside it was easier. I do not know spices well and have tried and the meals end up tasting like grass. Most marinades have allot of carbs that will make eating a steak a high carb meal. Even vegetables add up fast and I dont like most of them. I am craving sauces but they are loaded with carbs as well.

I have lots of BBQ rubs that we used in the summer to add flavor but they taste horrible cooked indoors (frying pan or baked in the oven).

I tried burgers without the bun and not worth it - same for grilled chicken here - just not satisfying. I love wings and can only eat them at home where I know they are not breaded, Every where I have eaten out wings they are deep fried and battered - lots of carbs. Very rarely eat a steak out unless its a high end steak house as I find the $20 steak they provide tastes like a hamburger without the bun.

Example - Taking a chicken breast and sprinkling basil leaves, parsley on the top with lemon juice taste like lemon juice and basil - not too appealing.

I am sick of salads as well. Eat them way too much.

When I was LC'ing and it was working I was very strict on my carbs that the meal must have 5 or less carbs or whats the point in a LC meal.

Sorry, Just in a rut here. I need to learn how to cook and plan better now. A basic sandwich on the run is easy and easily obtainable - cooking a meal in under 5 minutes is not and to prepare meals for the kids/family that are NOT LC'ing.

Meals we have made - steaks (grill) , chicken, chicken pizzas (chicken as the crust), stuffed chicken breasts on the grill, meatballs without breadcrumbs (do not like them as missing allot of flavor), salads, pulled pork (grill), briskets (grill), sausage peppers, hot dogs, - Now that we are on the go allot I do not have time to cook all of these things.

My original goal was to loose 30 more pounds but its been a tough 2 months and I can not get back into it all the way. I keep trying new meals here and there to get over the blandness of low carb eating (yes I find it very plain) but it is not easy to get a very tasteful meal under 5 carbs.

Perhaps you're confusing 'bland' with 'it's not as good as carbs'...because low carb is not bland unless you're avoiding seasoning. Even carby food will be bland if you don't use seasoning.

I would start right back at the beginning, although you don't have to go as low as '72 induction levels. Just keep your carbs under 25gm per day (make sure to count those that are in eggs, cheeses, etc.) and only eat green vegie type carbs. Cook your eggs in butter, have bacon with your eggs, butter or olive oil on your vegies and cream in your coffee. Keep it simple. Cheeseburgers, chicken or tuna salad, grilled/roasted/pan-fried meats, etc.

Even made extras for leftovers for lunch the next days and I do not like leftovers at all.
I can make a plan to make something but life gets in the way
You can guess what the restaurants are serving but you dont know.
Ordering plain chicken breast is disgusting and gets me more frustrated.

I'll keep searching and trying. Holidays are coming and this will be worse. I can see all the weight I lost come right back on fast in a few months. one of the reasons I do not like this WOE.

I don't care if you're just counting calories, doing WW or any other *diet*. Go off it and the weight will come right back on...fast. If you treat low carb like a diet (meaning it's just a temporary thing to reach a specific goal) and then go right back to your old way of eating, of course you'll gain it back...as you would if you stopped counting calories, WW, etc.

You can quit low carb (just as you can quit any diet) and not gain the weight back, but it means paying attention (just as you have to with any diet) to your calories, fats, etc.

Moving on...

If you don't like left overs, then plan something else.
If you have a busy life, make sure to have things on hand that you can grab when 'life gets in the way'...cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs, ham/turkey/salami wrapped around a piece of cheese or pickle, tuna/chicken salad already made and ready. If you're out and running, keep a small 6-pack cooler in the car with your food.
Eat out at restaurants is the absolute easiest. Why would you eat a plain piece of chicken? A juice cheeseburger with a side salad can be found just about anywhere. Wendy's is one of my favorite places. Steaks, seafood and sides of grilled vegies...yumm.

Holidays are only tough if you think they're an excuse to chow down on lots of carby foods. Food is for nourishment...not entertainment. Yes, it should taste good, but holidays are for family, not stuffing our gut until we feel like we want to throw up.

To be honest, it sounds as if you're coming up with a lot of excuses/reasons why you don't want to do low carb. My advice to you then is to find a WOE that you can live with because that is the only WOE that you'll find sucess with.

oh, sweetheart, check out some of the other threads where people have described the food they are planning for the hols and their strategies for dealing with temptation. There are lots of good ideas there. And I can assure you that even though I wasn't following a specifically LC diet, for years and years and years I've not been able to have the things you mention you will miss during Thanksgiving...in my case I couldn't eat those things because I can't eat glutens and also I was avoiding certain things for weight control. But I've always enjoyed a delicious although simple TG dinner of turkey smoked on the grill and low carb veggies roasted with garlic and EVOO in the oven. And from the bottom of my heart I can assure you I've never felt deprived. If such a simple menu doesn't appeal to you, do take a few minutes to check out some of the other threads I mentioned. Sounds like there are a lot of good cooks here and many, many people with inspired ideas. I really don't think you'll need to feel deprived. Hang in there, dear.

Rob, I feel for you. I take it your wife is not on board? That does make it hard. But, what about a crockpot? Then dinner is ready when you get home. There are tons of low carb alternatives for the holidays. But, yea, if you have to find them, figure out how to cook them, it'll definitely be harder. Maybe sit down with your wife and see if you can get her on board.

Try and see what you might be able to cut from all the running around. Really, kids don't need to be busy 24/7 either. If you think low carb is the way you can eat for the rest of your life, you have to figure out how to make it work. Life will always happen.

Take a trip to the book store and checkout some new cook books. There are a Lot of great ones out there. And paleo works pretty well with low carb, maybe a few changes. We just had baked pork chops out of the Beyond Bacon cook book. They were really good. That and a salad and I was done. I hope you can figure it out... I know, for me, this is the healthiest option out there, that I can live with...

__________________Freedom isn't free

..stop thinking of it as "starting over". It's life, we don't get do-overs. You can only move forward from this point. ~~ pepperanne

Over the summer when I was grilling/smoking meals outside it was easier. I do not know spices well and have tried and the meals end up tasting like grass. Most marinades have allot of carbs that will make eating a steak a high carb meal. Even vegetables add up fast and I dont like most of them. I am craving sauces but they are loaded with carbs as well.

I have lots of BBQ rubs that we used in the summer to add flavor but they taste horrible cooked indoors (frying pan or baked in the oven).

I tried burgers without the bun and not worth it - same for grilled chicken here - just not satisfying. I love wings and can only eat them at home where I know they are not breaded, Every where I have eaten out wings they are deep fried and battered - lots of carbs. Very rarely eat a steak out unless its a high end steak house as I find the $20 steak they provide tastes like a hamburger without the bun.

Example - Taking a chicken breast and sprinkling basil leaves, parsley on the top with lemon juice taste like lemon juice and basil - not too appealing.

I am sick of salads as well. Eat them way too much.

When I was LC'ing and it was working I was very strict on my carbs that the meal must have 5 or less carbs or whats the point in a LC meal.

Sorry, Just in a rut here. I need to learn how to cook and plan better now. A basic sandwich on the run is easy and easily obtainable - cooking a meal in under 5 minutes is not and to prepare meals for the kids/family that are NOT LC'ing.

Meals we have made - steaks (grill) , chicken, chicken pizzas (chicken as the crust), stuffed chicken breasts on the grill, meatballs without breadcrumbs (do not like them as missing allot of flavor), salads, pulled pork (grill), briskets (grill), sausage peppers, hot dogs, - Now that we are on the go allot I do not have time to cook all of these things.

Okay, I'm a bit confused about the burgers and the meatballs. Are the bunless burgers not worth it because the Bun tastes so good??? is it really the breadcrumbs taht add flavor to the meatballs? ? I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but I think a lot more experimentation and a bit of relaxing the rules is in order. My burgers have lettuce and onion and ketchup and mustard and mayo and cheese, I could eat that without the bun and still have all those flavors. and the breadcrumbs in meatballs are for texture not flavor, the flavor comes from what seasonings are put into it.

Your meals do NOT have to net 5 carbs or less to be worth it. You could have a meal with 8 carbs for lunch and 3 carbs for breakfast. It's supposed to be a daily total not a straitjacket for each meal. You couldn't eat a proper side dish with that restriction, or have any organic spices. loosen up a little bit and get something other than dry herbs, even I don't like dry herbs by themselves, get some seasoning blends and use some OIL not just lemon juice. Pan fry that stuff IN OIL. Use some bacon fat, Use Marinades, You are not drinking it, it's just a coating and a bit of flavor. Do you like mayo? make some tuna/chicken salad, make some Hot casseroles. have some cauliflower and cheese with paprika, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. There are so many options to not have boring food.
Go to Linda Sue's site genaw.com and look around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob71

I am just venting as I am stuck and always hungry now. Probably from the carb meals.

On Holidays do you eat something different then everyone else?

We are cooking Thanksgiving. I can have the turkey and that's basically it. I cant have the gravy (flour), mashed potatos, stuffing, cranberry sauce, that we usually make for the rest of the family.

Well, I've been there, and It's darn annoying. I just sent a message to my mother saying that I intend to make some Low carb sides that I can have with my turkey. I intend to make either Just Like Stuffed Baked Potatoes, which is cauliflower in a creamy cheddar sauce with bacon and green onions, or mashed cauliflower which is what it sounds like but I add cream cheese and carmelized onion, butter, and a bit of shredded cheddar, Roasted green beans and mushrooms or green bean casserole. Since I'm looking to maintain over the Thanksgivng break and not losing, I'll indulge a bit, and I might make a black bean chocolate cake or ask Mom to make the pumpkin pie with a sweetener instead of sugar. I can make my own cranberry sauce with Splenda or my own personal sweetener blend. Cranberry is still high in carbs, but it's one day. I'm going to ask my mom to use Healthy Life Low Carb Bread ( High Fiber) for the stuffing, so that while it's still high in carbs , it's lower in carb than usual. Ask your family to offer more vegetable side dishes. There is nothing wrong with broiled veggies with a butter sauce, A meat gravy made from pan drippings and a bit of heavy cream, you could even make your own pumpkin pie custard with splenda and a dollop of real whipped cream. Maybe it's because i'm a foodie, but I cannot eat bland food if I have a choice and there are so many choices out there. Ask your family to work with you on this.

Ok...this is what I've learned over the years...do it or don't...no whining or complaining...food is NOT the center of my existence...it is to sustain me...and feeds my body...when it becomes a fixation..Im in trouble....Ive traveled the world and no food is sooooo amazing that my soul is satisfied...I've tasted really good food..but that isn't usual...I cannot pursue the ultimate in taste....l/c can be as good or bad as we choose...or it can be as good as we put forth our effort...no one is so busy that they cannot make room for healthful eating...we can just make excuses...IMHO

This is my first time ever doing low carb. I really love it but this week ends tomorrow night and I will have been on it 2 months or 8 weeks straight thru.
So I tried to think what an I missing that would tempt me to fall off and cheat? I figured bread and some high carb veggies like corn and potatoes.
So what I did is thought I also miss fruit too.
I did 7 weeks of Atkins Induction then took this week and added a couple of slices Zero carb bread in my meal 4 x this week. I also have had some corn one meal and potato both sweet and a baked white one a different meal this week. Otherwise I have stayed with the Induction concept.
What I didn't do was eat sweets and no regular breads and pastries. The foods are real foods and the Zero carb bread has nothing bad in there at all.
I can see for myself I had to have lost weight. I joined Weight Watchers to get my head focused and my approach is Simply Filling which mimics Atkins only I keep the fats and Induction foods free and count points for the foods if any outside of the Program but so far that hasn't happened.
I need to scale weigh because I want to stand on a calibrated scale and follow the basic concepts of the diet.

Ok...this is what I've learned over the years...do it or don't...no whining or complaining...food is NOT the center of my existence...it is to sustain me...and feeds my body...when it becomes a fixation..Im in trouble....Ive traveled the world and no food is sooooo amazing that my soul is satisfied...I've tasted really good food..but that isn't usual...I cannot pursue the ultimate in taste....l/c can be as good or bad as we choose...or it can be as good as we put forth our effort...no one is so busy that they cannot make room for healthful eating...we can just make excuses...IMHO

It is one thing to struggle and look for solutions but quite another to come at it with the attitude that it is not possible and the rest of us just don't.

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

Ok...this is what I've learned over the years...do it or don't...no whining or complaining...food is NOT the center of my existence...it is to sustain me...and feeds my body...when it becomes a fixation..Im in trouble....Ive traveled the world and no food is sooooo amazing that my soul is satisfied...I've tasted really good food..but that isn't usual...I cannot pursue the ultimate in taste....l/c can be as good or bad as we choose...or it can be as good as we put forth our effort...no one is so busy that they cannot make room for healthful eating...we can just make excuses...IMHO

I love this. And, it's how I eat 95% of the time- for fuel. The food is still good but I don't put much thought into oh would I rather be eating something else and what would taste better. I get pleasure from other things in my life (like being healthy and at goal), not the meals.

The other 5% I eat for pleasure. Those special meals always taste amazing because I don't eat them that frequently and then can enjoy them guilt free while still maintaining.

Food has become something I enjoy and satisfies me when its good. When it tastes bad I just look for other outs. Whe also like to dine out with friends as a social event allot. I find that really hard to do.

I can say a good cooked meal is a stress reliever. I do not know how to relieve stress otherwise - Forget exercise as I hate that worse than bad food. Even when I did exercise it never relieved stress - just more time to think about why I am stressed making it worse.

As far as being healthy - I do not know what that feels like or what it would compared to what I am now. losing 30 lbs - great my clothes are loser but I dont feel different physically. I have sleep apnea - After 30lbs I still have it so that is not the answer for that. I still get heartburn all the time so I have to stay on Nexium so LC is not the answer for that either - Just stating that I do not know the difference on what "Healthy" should be.

I am still searching for peace on how to keep on LC eating or I wouldn't be here. I did loose 30lbs eating LC so I know it works - just have to find a way to keep it going so I dont go back to eating the old ways. I need to learn how to cook meals that are LC and flavorful that I like. Techniques to cooking, etc. Need to understand what spices go together and how to use them instead of dumping a spoon full of green herbs and hoping for the best.

I have tried allot and some are good and some I make over and over again but they are getting old. Most dishes have peppers in them and I am getting sick of them as well. I eat scrambled eggs and egg beaters with ham or bacon and cheese every morning. I have cheese sticks for snacks every day as I can eat them on the fly without preparing anything.

Meatballs without breadcrumbs - I have used my method of making meatballs - ground beef, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, basil leaves, garlic powder, eggs, salt, pepper, and seasoned breadcrumbs. I usually mix all these together the pan fry then throw into a sauce for a few hours. - I have tried a few times the same recipe without the breadcrumbs and baking in sauce to frying them in a pan then baking them in a pan in the oven then putting a little sauce over them and serve. They do NOT taste the same. They taste plain and basically more "Earthier" from the other spices. Then to eat them without pasta - that another issue - and yes we now make spaghetti squash and its good but its not pasta.